Friday, April 3, 2015

Team Drea Challenge Guest Post #2: by Sandy (aka Andrea's mom)

Mom Musings or All I Know About Running I Learned From Observing
Andrea Lytle Peet

I have always approached any challenge that was important by thinking there
must be a way, if not I’ll make one.I
will do whatever it takes.Not this time
though; ALS is the outlier.No one has
overcome it yet.Incredibly frustrating for a mom!!There is nothing that I can do as an
individual except join with others. I
know that there is hope through supporting those who have the talent and skill
to find a cure.

Joining with the Blazeman Foundation/Team Drea provides a way to honor
Jon Blais and my daughter, Andrea Lytle Peet, in the fight against ALS.Inviting friends and family to donate money
through a race gives me an opportunity to contribute by bringing awareness of
this devastating disease and the urgency to fund research.

I don’t have much of a competitive spirit other than competing with
myself.I usually strive toward mastery
though.I first considered a triathlon
but reality set in when I recognized that I didn’t even know how to judge the
distance of a mile let alone run one.I
am in reasonable condition given that I’m practically 70.I love working out.Andrea calls me a “gym rat” which I’m sure
she means as a compliment :)

"Start by
doing what is necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing
the impossible."

-St. Francis of Assisi

﻿

Because I love Harkers Island, NC and our little beach cottage is there, it was a
perfect (and relatively flat) place to do my first race ever.Coincidentally it was also the first ever
Core Sound Run.

I only had 9 weeks to prepare
(not a good idea) and was sick for a week (not a good idea either).Andy, my husband, was wonderfully
supportive.He helped me check out the
course, find the ½ mile, etc. It
reminded me of my son-in-law (aka DP) when Andrea did her Half Ironman in Davidson in September 2013.Both husbands
are very nurturing and willing to do anything to help.

On race day I woke up at 4:30 am because I was excited.Two hours before the run I had my usual
breakfast: steel cut oatmeal, ½ banana, clementine.

It was
about 45 degrees when we arrived.I
swapped out my shirts several times while noticing how other runners were
dressed. I kept it simple:no iPhone, no
sunglasses, no head cover so that I had less to worry about.I decided that if my upper body was warm then
I would be fine.So I wore long sleeve 179
shirt underneath, a short sleeve Team Drea shirt next and finally a long sleeve
pullover to be removed if I got too warm.I stretched.I resisted the coffee
and cookies that were offered.Then I stayed
inside where I was out of the cold.

While lining up for the run I made a new friend, Betsy Briscoe, 82 years
old.She said that she only runs a 5K
now.I shared that I was running for
Team Blazeman/Team Drea because of ALS.She expressed true concern.I also met
another women in her 30s who started running because family members were
regularly competing. She said that she
got tired of being a bystander.

My strategy was to walk for the first half
mile and then do some sprints when I could.Starting out I listened to my
body – what’s tight, what’s sore; gave myself time to loosen up; how was I
processing oxygen?

I wonder what “real runners” think about when
they are racing? [Editor's note: Anyone who runs is a real runner!]

I wonder what Andrea thinks about when she’s
racing?

I think I will take some steps for Steve Gay.
I know Andrea won’t mind.Steve is my
friend who is a retired Army Ranger no longer able to run.I have great respect and admiration for him,
his service to our country and his new career as a physician’s assistant.

Sure glad I ran the course
before the race and drove it by car a couple of times beforehand.

Race officials made it possible
to identify key points along the route by mail box numbers.No doubt local runners know most of the
family who live there.I chuckled to
myself thinking that only people in a close community could do this.

Of course I noticed the homes
with For Sale signs (I’m a realtor).That one is over-priced; good luck selling this one!

I wonder if I will be able to
deal with anything unexpected?Sure
enough, I had puzzled over it earlier,
the original course length was more like 3.5 miles instead of 3.1.A volunteer directed me to skip the
Shackleford loop and just turn onto Yeomans Street.“Wow!How many times does this happen?This is a GIFT!!”

I thought that I should look for
someone to pass when I spotted a woman speed walking about 200 yards
ahead.I couldn’t catch her.I would sprint awhile; make some
headway.Walk awhile, then sprint
again.Never did catch up nor figure out
her secret.

I checked periodically for Ms.
Betsy.I needed to know that she was OK.

Glad the wind is only a couple
of knots.The day of my practice run the
wind was brutal coming off West Mouth Bay and very cold.Now it has risen to about 50 degrees with a
Carolina blue sky.I relished the fine
mix of salt with clean country air!

No dogs barking or chasing
me.Yay!!This is a training hazard in my
neighborhood.I had two dogs jump on me
as I ran…no fun.

Watched other runners for ways
to improve my style:ones who seemed to
be efficient placing their feet and controlling their breathing.

Some folks came out into their
yards to wave a friendly hello or just watch.They all seemed a bit puzzled.Was this yet another invasion of “off islanders” (aka dit dots)?I didn’t worry because people in the
community have warm hearts.

Passed James Allen Rose’s home.“J.A.”, a 2000 NC Folk Heritage Award
Recipient, was special to our family.
His model boats are known the world over. When Andrea was little, he built her a “boat bed" and said he'd never make another :)

As I approached the “End of the
Road” (literally) at Shell Point I remembered the day that the wind and current
were just right for our sail boat.Andrea (about age 10) bailed out onto her boogie board secured by a line
to the stern to have a crazy fast ride.She was ecstatic!No wonder this
area is famous for sail boarders.

No adrenaline rush for me at the
last quarter mile though I did sprint to the end as soon as I saw Cape Lookout
Lighthouse. The music reminded me of Ramblin’ Rose last October when Andrea and
Julie completed their incredible race.Amazing how motivating that was!Very sweet knowing that I would cross the
finish line (Goal 1) and remembered (Goal 2) to SMILE.Then I noticed that there were rugs on the
finish line so I made a quick decision to honor Jon Blais and Team Drea by
doing a Blazeman Roll. I think I surprised everyone! So far no photos have surfaced but Karen
Amspacher, the Director of the Core Sound Waterfowl and Heritage Museum, vouched for me.

After I crossed the finish line, I felt never-before tight muscles in my
upper thighs so I paced until that went away and stretched afterwards.Then I had a great reward!It was a gorgeous, juicy orange.

I was pleased to learn that Betsy Briscoe not only finished but placed
first in her age group.

I’m still wondering what real runners think about when they run.I only know that I had a good time recalling
all the sights, smells, sounds and special times on the island.Andrea Lytle Peetis always in my heart, always on my mind!Total funds raised: $1,262

7 comments:

Sandy, you are so inspiring to us...not only for your athletic accomplishments but your writing as well! Andrea is so proud of you...Thank you for your support of the BMF as we all work hard to fund ALS research! Mary Ann and Bob, Jon's mom and dad

Mom, for (poet#179), and for (alswarriorpoet-spirit #179)...I share with you Jon's wish, "always follow your bliss"...you may have found a new one...but for all the (poets) and poet-spirits)...G-d bless and thank you..."Mo...chuisle"...Andrea and Jon...you are now a "runner"...love...to you all...bmom and bdad...jon's mom and dad.

I wrote a reply... thought I published it but something went wrong! We just got off the phone with you, Sandy; We are going through stacks of papers to find items to add to our list for selling the house. After your call, I decided to look at Andrea's blog; and to my surprise you were the guest writer. I began reading aloud to Steve as I let him find "nursery" receipts! When I got to your 4th thought while running; I looked at him and said, "you are going to love this one" What a sweet thought and he sure appreciates those steps taken for him. He tells me he can still run! I am sitting here thinking, "oh man, I need to start running again" I should run for my sweet husband! I should run for Andrea. I should run for those who love running and can no longer enjoy it. I need to run for myself!! The only race I ever did was the army 10 miler. I actually did that 3 times! Maybe I will sign up to do that again in October!! I will have to look up the couch to 5 K program to get started...

Our thoughts and prayers are with Andrea! As well as all her family and friends!! We are so happy that our paths have crossed Sandy!!!